Surge booster device for exhaust manifolds



Sept. 27, 1949.

Filed Oct. 21. 1944 C. R. FLINT SURGE BOOSTER DEVICE FOR EXHAUST MANIFOLDS 2 sheets sheet l Sept. 27, 1949. c; R. FLINT SURGE BOOSTER DEVICE FOR EXHAUST MANIFOLDS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 21, 1944 W; (AW

Patented Se t. 27, 1949 SURGE BOOSTER DEVICE FOR EXHAUST MANIFOLD Charles R. Flint, La Porte, Ind. assignor to The De Luxe Products Corporation, La Porto, Ind.,

a corporation of Indiana Application October 21, 1944, Serial No. 559,824

2'Claims.

1 This invention relates to a vacuum accumulator and more particularly to a surge booster provided with a check valve and intended for application to an exhaust manifold. In my Patent No. 2,345,569, issued April 4, 1944, and Patent.

No. 2,390,527, issued December '11, 1945, I have a tube having A inch internal diameter for 10 or disclosed check valves suitable for application to exhaust manifolds of internal combustion motors. These check valves are designed to admit air to the exhaust manifold whenever suction conditions exist therein. In the operation of the device as heretofore disclosed, it has beendiscoverecl that the effectiveness of the device has decreased under full thread, ditions as the speed of the motor increases and a it above a normal operating speed of around aa 5 miles per hour the exhaust acuum at full thrcttie has decreased to zeroso ihat the device cannot operate. 'The present device is an improvement which, by means of an accumulator, permits intake of air to the manifold even under full throttle conditions at high speeds.

The present device also has effectively overcome a tendency of the check valve, in some cases, to be fouled by surge of gas from the exhaust. It has been found that dirt which got into the very light check valve might tend to hold it open and thereby permit more carbon -or other matter from the engine to foul the valve. The present device overcomes this, and has proved effective under operating conditions so that the check valve device may be entirely free of dirt from the engine.

The device is illustrated in the drawings in which Figure l is a broken sectional elevation; Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevation; Figure 3 is a sectional view of a modified form of the device; and Figure 4 is a section taken along the line l--| in Fig. 3.-

The present system is adapted to be mounted on the exhaust manifold IU of an internal combustion motor indicated at l I. A conventional downdraft air cleaner i2 is indicated as mounted on the intake side of the motor and supplies cleaned air thereto. The motor is preferably of the usual multi-cycle, multi-cylinder type, and a plurality of its cylinders exhaust into the exhaust manifold Ill. The surge booster comprises a graduated tube is. These graduations may be uniform and continuous, but it is more practicable to divide the tube into sections of diminishing cross-section as indicated at l6, l1 and iii. For an ordinary six to eight cylinder passenger car or light truck, an internal diameter of inch leading from the 12 inches, is satisfactory. In some cases it may be desirable to have a; third tube [8 of f; inch internal diameter.

The booster tube communicates with a check valve 20 having a diaphragm 2| which is so thin as to have no substantial inertia. This check valve closes the passageway 22 which communicates with the clean air side of the filter II.

The check valve comprises a collar 25 which is welded or otherwise affixed in the side of the air filter. A union tube 26 having an internal diameter slightly larger than that of the tube I8 connects the collar 25 with the annular valve seat 21. The valve seat 21 has a projecting neck 28, having a face 29 against which the diaphragm 2| is pressed by the very light leaf spring 30. The diaphragm has a larger diameter than the neck 28 so that its edges project thereover into the space 3|. The check valve is completed by the casing 3i which encloses the valve seat 2'l and has an opening 32 communicating with the tube l8.

A stud 40 is secured to the casing and a packing nut 4| is screwed thereon to provide an airtight union securing the end of the tube l8.

The tension of the leaf spring 30 maybe adjusted by insertion of one or more washers 33.

The booster tube 15 is provided, preferably near the air cleaner with a timing accumulator chamber 50 substantially larger than the tube and having a restricted orifice 5| communicating with the tube.

A p1 ate of sheet metal 60, twisted into a spiral, is inserted into the lower end of the tube l6. This spiral serves the purpose of withdrawing heat from any air which enters the tube from the exhaust manifold and heating any cold air which enters it from the outside.-

The figures in the drawing are drawn to scale, the size being of considerable importance although the spacing and size vary in accordance with the particular motor.

The operation of the device is as follows. When the motor is running, a series of exhaust pressure waves passes through the exhaust manifold. Each pressure wave is followed by a relative vacuum. Whenever the pressure in the manifold is greater than in the tube l5, hot exhaust gases enter the tube from the manifold and are cooled by passage over the heating device 60. At the same time the sheet metal is heated. Because of the heating member 60, the gases are cooled more rapidly than would otherwise be the case. As the pressure drops in the manifold, it also manifold for 10 or 12 inches, and connecting to ro in e ube n he check v ve p n ting in air from the atmosphere to the tube. The movement of air through the tube creates in its wake a vacuum which tends to keep the air moving into the tube. This is accelerated by the fact that the air is heated, particularly when it reaches the curled metal device 60.

In actual practice it. has been demonstrated that the volume of air entering the exhaust manifold through the check valve 20 is considerably augmented, particularly at higher motor speeds, by the addition of the tube I5. Thus, on the ordinary motor, no air will enter through a check valve above a motor speed of 30 to 35 miles per hour at full throttle. With the present device, however, air will continue to pass in through the check valve at all normal operating 'speeds.

The chamber 50 serves to synchronize the timing of the booster surge or wave, the size of the orifice being of a predetermined size to bring about this synchronization. The chamber 50 serves as a timing device in that immediately following the explosion in the cylinders of the motor, the pressure within the tube I is raised. This compresses the air that is in the vacuum accumulator which has been drawn throughv the valve 20, and forces it through orifice 5| into the chamber 50. The air pressure in the chamber 50 is then considerably greater than atmospheric pressure. After each explosion, there is a delay until the vacuum comes into being and draws air through the accumulator tube I5 and valve 20. During this delay, air which is in the chamber 50 at increased pressure flows through the orifice 5| to the tube and is fed into the manifold and the motor. Thus, the chamber 50 and the orifice 5I provide a fiow of air before the vacuum takes effeet and eliminates any lag of air flow. The speed of air flow into and out of chamber 50 can be adjusted for any installation by regulating the size of the orifice 5|. In some installations the air fiow through'the orifices will need to be more rapid than it will in other installations. The size of the orifice 5I may be made a predetermined size for any given engine, as shown.

In Figures 3 and 4 I have shown a modified structure and check valve. 7

The modified form of accumulator or booster 10 comprises a booster tube I1I adapted to be attached in any suitable way to a manifold or other structure. Ordinarily this may be by screw threading I12 of the housing I13. It will be noticed that the manifold end of the tube extends slightly beyond the end of the housing, a distance of inch being satisfactory, the tube having an internal diameter of inch. The' housing I13 is shown as comprising four parts, the threaded end I15, the union N6, the chamber housing I11, and the end closure I18. It will be noted that the housing forms a housing chamber I13 about the tube "I which chamber is not greatly larger than the tube I'll. For example, with a tube V4 inch in internal diameter the entire housing is suitably not much more than inch in diameter. The tube Ill terminates at I80 slightly short of the end I18 of the housing.

The division shown for the housing is preferred for ease of assembly. It is obvious that the entire device may be made in one piece if desired.

The union I16 is joined to the threaded end I of the housing in any suitable manner as by threading. The chamber housing I11 is likewise joined to the union and is preferably caused to abut a shoulder I8I therein in such manner as to permit an end I82 of the housing to extend only slightly into chamber I83 in the neck of the check valve H0.

The preferred form of check valve is shown in my Patent No. 2,390,527. It includes a tubular 5 neck IIO. Secured to the top of the neck is a valve housing I I3 which comprises a bottom housing H4, an inner housing H5, and a cover I IS. A valve seat I I1 is sweated within the bottom housing I I4, the bottom of the seat being held in spaced relation to the bottom housing by the ring H8. The ring II8 also provides a seat for the inner cover I I5. The valve seat is circular in shape and is provided with a series of valve openings I20 having substantially radial sides. The valve seat has considerable depth and the valve openings I20 are provided with a series of grooves I5I and lands I52.

The b ttom housing II4, which is generally dome-shaped, is provided with an inwardly convex section I2I which limits the area beneath the valve openings. The deflector I22 consisting of a circular plate of metal having a downwardly directed edge portion I23 is mounted a predetermined distance b low the valve openings and serves not only to deflect the current of air but to limit the available area in the chamber I24 formed within the bottom housing.

Between the deflector I22 and the valve openings is a thin flexible wafer spring I25. This spring is provided with a large number of peripheral fingers I26,,it being preferred to have at least six of these fingers and preferably eight. The fingers are curved at their ends to press upon the valve I30. The valve is likewise a thin wafer of metal having no substantial inertia. It is in the form of an annulus, the edges I3I of which overlap slightly the valve openings. The ends of the fingers I26 touch the valve at approximately the mid-portion of each valve opening; that is, the number of valve openings is preferably the same as the number of spring fingers.

Above the valve seat is an accumulator chamber I bounded at the top by the inner cover II5. This chamber I35 is broken up into a series of smaller chambers I36, I31 and I38 by the series of baflles I39 and I40. These bafiles are of thin metal, are circular in form, and their outer edges are spaced only a very little from the wall of the inner cover H5. The lower baflle is separated from the valve seat by a spacer MI and other spacers I42 and I43 separate the second baflle and the inner housing.

The inner housing is provided with a relatively small opening I45 which communicates with the annular passageway I46 formed by the spacing of the inner cover H5 and the cover H5.

The cover is spaced from the inner cover by spacers 41; and the deflector I22 is spaced from the spring I25 by an additional spacer I48. The

spring is spaced from the valve seat by the spacer I49. The various spacers, the valve seat, the valve, the valve spring, the deflector, the battles, the inner cover, and the cover are held in spaced relationship by the bolt I50. In assembling the structure the various parts just referred to are assembled on the valve seat and the latter is then inserted in the bottom housing.

The figures are shown drawn to scale, and size is of considerable importance, although spacing and size are naturally varied in accordance with the amount of air which is to be passed inwardly through the structure. The dimensions given are suitable for the ordinary passenger car having a six or eight cylinder multi-cycle engine developing up to horsepower.

The valve seat shown has a diameter of approximately 2 inches. The valve openings ar centered at a point inch from the center of the valve seat. They are approximately i inch long,

. along the radius, and are inch wide at their clock spring steel.

The valve spring I25 is 15% inches-in diameter,

is 0.003 inch in thickness, with the fingers depressed to give a total width of 0.075 inch. The central inch erose circle is flat and the curvature commences only at the outer edges. The fingers are approximately 3*; inch across at the outside, although the very edge is rounded.

The bailies I39 and 140 provide an annular space 0.015 inch in width between the edge of the bafiles and the inside of the inner housing H5. The space between the edge of the deflector I22 and the inside of the bottom housing is approximately inch. The opening I45 in the inner housing is a circle inch in diameter.

The annular chamber I46 is approximately inch wide. Y

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: I

1. A surge booster comprising an elongated tube at least ten times as long as its diameter adapted for connection at one end to the exhaust manifold of an internal combustion engine and having an opening to the atmosphere at the other, and a check valve opening whenever pressure on the inner side of the valve is below atmospheric, said valve having a diaphragm of no substantial inertia in said opening and having heat exchange means within the tube adjacent the exhaust manifold end thereof.

2. A surge booster comprising an elongated tube at least ten times as long as its diameter adapted for connection at one end to the exhaust manifold of an internal combustion engine and having an opening to the atmosphere at the other, and a check valve opening whenever pressure on the inner side of the valve is below atmospheric, said valve having a diaphragm of no substantial inertia in said opening and characterized by the presence of a twisted metallic sheet having substantially the diameter of the tube within the tube at the exhaust manifold end thereof.

' CHARLES R. FLINT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,693,910 Richardson et a1. Dec. 4, 1928 2,345,569 Flint Apr. 4, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 386,901 Great Britain Jan. 26, 1933 

